updated 04:30 pm EDT, Thu October 5, 2006

Apple scandal, execs

Former Apple chief financial officer Fred Anderson -- who resigned from the company's board of directors -- and former Apple legal chief Nancy Heinen -- who independently sought legal counsel in May of this year -- could be the two unnamed former executives mentioned in Apple's recent statement, according to one industry analyst. "Apple mentioned it has 'serious concerns' regarding two unnamed former executives who may be responsible for the counting, recording, and reporting of questionable stock options grants," said American Technology Research senior analyst Shaw Wu. "From our assessment, we believe the executives could be former CFO Fred Anderson, who resigned from the Board of Directors, and former general counsel Nancy Heinen."

Heinen, who joined the company in September of 1997 after the acquisition of NeXT Software, served as Apple's primary legal officer responsible for overseeing all legal matters. Heinen reportedly sold more than $7.5 million in Apple shares which she acquired under the company's 2003 Employee Stock Plan prior to her quiet departure, after which she hired East Bay defense attorneys Cristina Arguedas and Miles Ehrlich to represent her in the Options Backdating probe.

They have it handled..

This is big news but it seems that Apple has it handled. This is a more proactive reaction than is expected out of most companies; i'd say they are taking the bull by the horns, here. Furthermore it doesn't seem a huge deal as far as the impact is concerned... shady dealings, yes, but widescale corruption, no.